I wanted to get an iPhone 7 with Verizon prepaid service right away. It turned out to be very simple:
- I checked on www.istocknow.com/live/ to make sure my local Apple Store had the phone I wanted in stock (Verizon iPhone 7 128g).
- I went to the Apple Store and told them I wanted a Verizon iPhone 7. When the salesperson asked about service I just said I would be putting in my own SIM so no need to activate. No Verizon account number was required and I was out with my new iPhone five minutes later.
- Before I even turned on the phone I found the Verizon site for activating a phone on a prepaid plan and entered my new iPhone's IMEI (which I got from the back of the box.) I was then prompted for the SIM's ID number, which I got by popping out the SIM and reading the number printed on it. Then the site guided me through the remaining steps of setting up a prepaid plan (entering my info, and paying by credit card, etc). Then I turned on the phone for the first time, and my Verizon service worked right away.
For some reason I had assumed that you had to get a special prepaid SIM to activate a phone with prepaid service, but apparently all you need is any Verizon SIM card.
- I checked on www.istocknow.com/live/ to make sure my local Apple Store had the phone I wanted in stock (Verizon iPhone 7 128g).
- I went to the Apple Store and told them I wanted a Verizon iPhone 7. When the salesperson asked about service I just said I would be putting in my own SIM so no need to activate. No Verizon account number was required and I was out with my new iPhone five minutes later.
- Before I even turned on the phone I found the Verizon site for activating a phone on a prepaid plan and entered my new iPhone's IMEI (which I got from the back of the box.) I was then prompted for the SIM's ID number, which I got by popping out the SIM and reading the number printed on it. Then the site guided me through the remaining steps of setting up a prepaid plan (entering my info, and paying by credit card, etc). Then I turned on the phone for the first time, and my Verizon service worked right away.
For some reason I had assumed that you had to get a special prepaid SIM to activate a phone with prepaid service, but apparently all you need is any Verizon SIM card.